SloppyCalculator/SinFoS huggingface dataset:
Sinhala figure of speech: දෙන්නා දෙමහල්ලන්ගේ තරඟ බත ඉදෙනකල් පමණයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The quarrel between husband and wife lasts only till the rice is boiled. 
Meaning: Conjugal quarrels are of short duration
Sinhala figure of speech: නුපුරුදු දීගයට වඩා පුරුදු කණවැන්දුම යෙහෙකි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The widowhood that you know is preferable to the unfamiliar marriage state.
Meaning: A certain advantage is preferable to a doubtful one
Sinhala figure of speech: මාතර ගොස් උගත්තේ පොල් ගාන්ට විතරක්ද ? 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: The widowhood that you know is preferable to the unfamiliar marriage state.
Meaning: Is that all the knowledge you have brought from such a seat of learning?
Sinhala figure of speech: ලහත් තිඹයි, තිඹත් ලහයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: A “ Laha ” is a “ timba,” and a “ timba ” is a (( laha.
Meaning: Six of one and half a dozen of the other
Sinhala figure of speech: නොකරන වෙදකමට කෝඳුරු තෙල් හත්පට්ටියකුත් ටිකක් ඕනෑලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: For the doctoring that will never come off, seven measures “(patta)” and a little more, of the oil of eye-flies are required.
Sinhala figure of speech: මතු පැමිණෙන ලෙඩට බෙහෙත් කන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] -
Literal translation: Like taking medicine in anticipation of illness
Sinhala figure of speech: උගුරට හොරා බෙහෙත් කන්නා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like trying' to gulp down medicine without the knowledge of the throat.
Meaning: Doing something unwillingly
Sinhala figure of speech: නොපවතිනා ශරීරයට පවතිනා බෙහෙත් මොකටද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Why use enduring medicine upon the non-enduring body ?
Sinhala figure of speech: මැකූ රත්රන් ගෙමඩියා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the gold frog that was melted.
Meaning: The story of a frog who escaped after teaching his son how to melt gold and make jewelry
Context:  A certain woman had a frog made of gold which she had inherited from her ancestors. She desired to melt this frog and make some ornaments for wear out of the gold, but her distrust of goldsmiths— a thieving tribe—prevented her doing so. She, therefore, apprenticed her son to a goldsmith, and, after the young person had learnt the art, she handed him. the gold frog with instructions to melt it and make her the required ornament. What he did, however, was that even a professional goldsmith would not have dared to do. He hid a live frog behind the small furnace near which he worked, and, when he blew into the fire, the frog hopped away, whereupon he shouted, “Mother, mother, See how the gold frog is running away”
Sinhala figure of speech: වැල යන අතට මැස්ස ගහනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Like placing the “ messa ” in the direction in which the creeper goes.
Meaning: Anticipate how a certain plan or situation will likely unfold
Sinhala figure of speech: නිදිවර ඉවසන්ට පුලුවන්නම් වින්නඹු කමේ නොයන් 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Don’t go on midwife’s work if you cannot remain awake of nights.
Sinhala figure of speech: මීගමුවේ නිකිණි කොයින්ද ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Where can you find “ nikini ” in Migamuva ?
Meaning: Nikini is a chimera, something which never existed except in the imagination. “Migamuwa” is the Sinhalese name for Negombo, the town 23 miles from Colombo
Sinhala figure of speech: කිරියෙන් කාලා පැණියෙන් අත හේදුවා වගෙයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like eating in milk and washing your hand in honey
Meaning: Those who live a prosperous and abundant life in everything
Sinhala figure of speech: කිරි කළේකට ගොම ටිකක් මුහුකළා වගෙයි  
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like putting a little cow-dung into a pot of milk
Meaning: Doing a lot of good things and then doing a bad thing
Sinhala figure of speech: හිතේ හැටියට කල යයි 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: One’s prosperity will be proportioned to the purity of his mind.
Meaning: You can’t always get what you want
Sinhala figure of speech: අත දීලා දත නියවනවා වගෙයි 
Type: [උපදේශ][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like mocking (at a man) after giving him your hand
Meaning: Doing someone a favor and then mocking them or begging for something else in return, belittling the value of the favor.
Sinhala figure of speech: එපා වාහෙට හොදි බෙදන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like serving soup to the unwanted lover / husband
Meaning: Behave in a way that convinces through actions rather than directly expressing disapproval.
Sinhala figure of speech: එළ හරකයි මී හරකයි වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the ox and the buffalo
English equivalent: As chalk is to cheese
Meaning: ill-assorted
Sinhala figure of speech: එළ හරකා වතුර බීපු තැන වගේ 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the place where the ox drank water
Context: Unlike the buffalo, the ox does not muddy the place where he drinks water. Sinhalese girls are asked by their parents to keep their homes “Like the place where the ox takes his fill.”
Sinhala figure of speech: එළිපත්ත උඩ ඉන්න බළලා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the cat on the doorstep
Meaning: Not making a firm decision
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ ඒ බනිස් වලට ඒ ඒ කෙහෙල් / කෙහෙල් ගෙඩි, කිව්වා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: ඒ ඒ බනිස් වලට ඒ ඒ කෙහෙල් / කෙහෙල් ගෙඩි, කිව්වා ලු
English equivalent: You can’t fit a round peg in a square hole
Context: You can’t force someone into a role for which s/he is not suited.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ කැලෙන් මේ කැලේට පැන්නහම මුවාගේ තිත් මැකේ යැ?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: Will the spot: of a deer vanish out by jumping from out jungle to another?
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ කියා මේ කියන්න කලින්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Before saying "this," having said "that."
English equivalent: Before you could say Jack Robinson
Meaning: Very soon
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ කෙළි කෝට්ටේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: That kind of game is good for Kotte
Meaning: That won’t go down with us
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ කෙළි නුන්තෙන්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: That game [is] from the end
Meaning: That (kind of) game won’t do
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒ ගහේ කොස් කන්න ඒ ගහේ පොල් ඕනෑ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: To eat the jack of that tree, you want the coconut of that tree
Meaning: You can’t force someone into a role for which s/he is not suited
Sinhala figure of speech: ඒදණ්ඩ මැද දී අත්වැල කැඩුනා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the handrail breaking in the middle of the log bridge
Meaning: What was there to help could disappear at any time.
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔබ ඉදිරියේ හිටගෙන ඉන්නේ ඇහි පිල්ලමක්වත් නොගසා බෙල්ල කඳින් වෙන්වෙනකම් බයෙන් තොරව බලා සිටිය හැකි මිනිසෙක් කියලා කිව්වලු
Type: [පුද්ගලික]
Literal translation: [It is said that] he said that standing in front of you is a man who is able to watch without fear until the neck separates from the torso, without even blinking an eyelash
Context: During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control. In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master. Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to See for himself what kind of man this master was. When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger. "You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!" But despite the threat, the master Seemed unmoved. "And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?"
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔය අණ්ඩර දෙමළ මට තේරෙන්නේ නැහැ
Type: [වාග් සම්ප්‍රදාය]
Literal translation: I don't understand that Andara, and that Tamil
Meaning: Applied to an unintelligible jargon
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔලුව අත ගාලා ටොක්කක් අනිනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like massaging the head and giving a knock to the head
Meaning: Attacking while praising
Sinhala figure of speech: ඔලුව අතගාලා ඇහැ උලුප්පන් කනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: One pats on the head, to pluck out the eyes.
Meaning: Employing arts of flattery to work one's ruin
Sinhala figure of speech: ඕවා අලින්ගේත් අපේත් වැඩ කිව්වා ලු
Type:  [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: They said that it's the elephants' and ours' business.
Meaning: Telling the world that they have done things they cannot do
Sinhala figure of speech: ඕවිටිගල මිනිහා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation:  Like the man of “Ovitigala”
Meaning: Forgetting where you are and doing something foolish
Context: A man of Ovitigala (a village in the Kalutara District) was drawing toddy from a kitul tree (Toddy Palm) when somebody from his home came running to the foot of the tree and shouted up to him that his wife had given birth to a son. Forgetting where he was, the toddy- drawer forthwith began to measure his shadow on the branch of the tree, in order to ascertain the hour of birth, for the calculation of the child’s horoscope. He fell down and died
Sinhala figure of speech: කක්කුටු බෙන වහන්නේ නැතිව වක්කඩ බැඳලා වැඩක් නැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: There is no use building the sluice gate without closing the crab holes
Meaning: It's useless to close the main route to steal something, without closing the smaller roads.
Sinhala figure of speech: කච්චිය පිච්චියට ගියත් බල්ලා හෙලුවැල්ලෙන් ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even though the “kachchiya “goes for a “pichchiya,” the dog goes naked 
English equivalent: Darg say no care how clot’ a sell cheap, him no wear none
Context: Kachchiya, according to Clough, is “a piece of linen cloth no part of which has been torn off ”—generally 40 yards in length. Pichchiya is a pice, one and a half cents in Ceylon currency today
Sinhala figure of speech: කට ඇති ඇත්තටමලු රට
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Those who have the mouth have also the country for themselves
Sinhala figure of speech: කට කහනවාට කියාපු කීමක් නොවේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Not a saying uttered merely because the mouth itched
Sinhala figure of speech: කට පියාගෙන සිටිනා තාක් මෝඩයා පණ්ඩිතයෙකි
Type: [ආප්තෝපදේශ]
Literal translation: A fool is wise as long as he keeps his mouth shut.
Sinhala figure of speech: කට බහ ඇති ගෑණි ඇති කරන කිකිළිත් අඬලනවා ලු 
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even the hen reared by a talkative woman crows
Sinhala figure of speech: කට බොරු කිව්වත් දිව බොරු කියන්නේ නැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: The tongue does not lie, though the mouth may
Sinhala figure of speech: කටත් එක වාජ්ජමකි
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The mouth is also a sort of sound-producer
Context: The word Vdjjama, used here, literally means tom-tom
Sinhala figure of speech: කටින් බතල කොළ හිටවනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like planting sweet potato leaves with the mouth
Meaning: Words without deeds
Context: Batala is a plant the root of which Is the sweet potato
Sinhala figure of speech: කටුවකින් කටුවක් අරින්න බැරි නම් මෝල් ගහෙන් අරින්න ද?
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation:  If a thorn be not removed by a thorn, can it be extracted by a pestle?
Meaning: A delicate matter requires delicate handling
Sinhala figure of speech: කටුස්සා පිදුරු ගොඩට පැන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the chameleon jumping on a heap of straw
Meaning: Made no impression on the straw which did not feel the weight
Sinhala figure of speech: කටුස්සාගේගෙලේ රත්තරන් පළඳුවා වගේ
Type: [උපදේශ][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like adorning the chameleon with a gold ornament 
Meaning: To be very proud of having something
Context: A king who had observed that a chameleon was in the habit of getting down a tree and saluting him whenever he was Seen, ordered a gold earring to be put on the chameleon’s ear. On the following day however, the chameleon instead of behaving towards the king as before, on Seeing him went up the tree and took no notice of him
Sinhala figure of speech: කටේ කිරි සුවඳ ගියේ නැති
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: The smell of milk in mouth hasn't gone away.
Meaning: About young children who have not even reached adolescence
Sinhala figure of speech: කටේ නරිවාදන් රෙද්ද පල්ලෙන් පෙරෙනවා
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The foolish talk of the mouth is leaking from the bottom of the cloth
Meaning: the disadvantages of not knowing how to control your mouth
Context: Two men on a long journey stopped at a house to spend the night. While waiting for their rice to cook, they passed the time by looking up at the roof and counting the rafters, saying, "This one is Palmyra wood (thal-lee), and this one is Coconut wood (pol-lee)." One of the young women in the house had protruding teeth, so the villagers mockingly nicknamed her "Bollee." The other young woman was dark-skinned, so she was called "Kallee." Thinking the men were making fun of their names (mishearing "thal-lee" and "pol-lee" as their nicknames), the young women grabbed  two clubs and started beating the travelers, forcing them to flee. As the men ran away, having hastily tied the hot rice pot into their loincloths, the rice gruel began to leak down their legs. Bystanders saw them running and asked, "What is that dripping?" "The foolish talk of our mouths is dripping down our clothes!" the travelers replied, as they continued to run.
Sinhala figure of speech: කඩන්න බැරි මල බුදුන්ගේ නමට පූජා වෙච්චාවෙයි කීවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like saying of the flower which cannot be plucked "Let it be offered to Buddha"
Sinhala figure of speech: කඩුල්ලත් එක්ක අමුඩෙ ගැහුවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Like the way in which a certain fool tied bis truss
Meaning: Doing something stupid
Context: A certain person who had gone out to catch thieves sat on a stile and unconsciously tied his truss so as to get entangled in it. Being however unable to get away when he attempted to run after thieves, thinking that he held down by someone he cried out “Let me go! let me go!”
Sinhala figure of speech: කඩුල්ලේ තරම දැන ගෙන කද බඳිනු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][විධාන]
Literal translation: Tie the pingo load knowing the size of the stile
Meaning: We should act wisely and think about the final results before doing something
Sinhala figure of speech: කඩුව රනින් වුවත් මරණය මරණය මයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even if the sword is made of gold, death is still death.
Sinhala figure of speech: කඩුවට වඩා පෑන බලවත්
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The pen is mightier than the sword.
Sinhala figure of speech: කණාගේ හැරමිටිය හැංගුවා සේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like hiding the blind man's walking stick
Meaning: To deprive someone of something essential to do something
Sinhala figure of speech: කණාට අහුවුනු බලු මැක්කෙක් වගේ
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the dog-flea which the blind man has got hold of 
Meaning: Caught steadily and firmly without any chance of escape
Context: He cannot See what exactly it is and does not let it off for that reason
Sinhala figure of speech: කණේ මී පැණි වක්කරන්නා වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like pouring bee honey into the ear
Meaning:  Praising a man highly within his hearing
Sinhala figure of speech: කණේ කොහොඹ මිරිකනවා වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Like squeezing Margosa (juice) into the ear
Meaning: Hearing something extremely unpleasant or harsh.
Sinhala figure of speech: කතා සරිත් සාගරය වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][උපමා]
Literal translation: Ocean filled with stories
Meaning: To be constantly engaged in or absorbed in friendly conversation or idle chatter.
Sinhala figure of speech: කන්ද කෙන්ද කරනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like turning a mountain into a fiber
Meaning: trying to show society that something or someone important is unimportant by making fun of it.
Sinhala figure of speech: කන්දක් නැග්ගොත් පල්ලමක් ඇති ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: If you climb a mountain, there are valleys also
English equivalent: What Goes Up Must Come Down
Sinhala figure of speech: කන්දක් ඇර කන්දකට ගියාම දිවියාගේ තිත් මකේද?
Literal translation: Although the leopard goes from one hill to another, will he change his spots?
Sinhala figure of speech: කන්න දුන්න අත සපා කන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like biting the hand that gave to eat
English equivalent: Don’t bite the hand that feeds you
Meaning: Forgetting the roots and opposing those who helped one's progress
Sinhala figure of speech: කන්න හිතුනම කබරගොයත් තලගොයා වෙනව ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: They say when one wants to eat, even the Water Monitor becomes a Land Monitor.
Meaning: When a need arises, even things that were initially opposed appear favorable
Sinhala figure of speech: කපන්න බැරි අත ඉඹිනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: To kiss the hand that cannot be cut off
English equivalent: If you can’t beat them, join them
Meaning: Accepting something unavoidable by pretending to like it, even if unwillingly
Sinhala figure of speech: කපාල අඳින මහත්තයෙක්
Type:  [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Wearing cut trousers instead of the uncut sarong
Sinhala figure of speech: කපුටන් හත් දෙනෙක් වමනේ කරපු කතාව වගෙයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the story where seven crows were vomited
English equivalent:  Seven At One Blow
Sinhala figure of speech: කපුටු කූඩුවේ හැදුනත්, එකම ලෙසට පෙනුනත්, කොවුලා හඬින් හැඳිනිය හැක
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Even if raised in a crow's nest, and even if they look the same, the cuckoo can be identified by its voice.
Meaning: Even though two people may look similar in external appearance, one can identify who is virtuous and who is wicked by their speech or actions
Sinhala figure of speech: කප් රුක තියෙන උතුරු කුරු දිවයිනේත් යක්ෂ බය තියෙනවා ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is said that there is a fear of demons even in the Uttara Kuru island where the Kapruka tree exists.
Meaning: There is no place anywhere in the world that is complete in all aspects
Sinhala figure of speech: කප්රුකේ කපුටෝ කූඩු හදන්නේ නැහැ
Type: [විශ්වාස][සාහිත්‍ය][නිශේධ]
Literal translation: Crows do not build nests on the kapruka tree
Meaning: Bad people do not come to a high or good place.
Sinhala figure of speech: කබරයාට තලනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා] 
Literal translation: Like beating a water monitor.
Meaning: Giving a useless punishment
Sinhala figure of speech: කබරු අන්ජිලා මාලු කෑවේ කවද ද?
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: When did “Kabaragoyas/Monitors” eat “Anjila” fish?
Context: When did “Kabaragoyas/Monitors” eat “Anjila” fish?
Sinhala figure of speech: කබලෙන් ලිපට පැන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like jumping from the frying pan into the hearth
English equivalent: Confusion Worse Confounded
Meaning: To say that one has fallen into an even worse difficulty while already being in a difficulty.
Sinhala figure of speech: කම්මලේ බල්ලා වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the dog in the blacksmith's shop
Meaning: Life becomes accustomed to it due to the constant arrival of troubles
Sinhala figure of speech: කම්මැලියාට දිවැස් ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: The sluggard has the gift of prophecy
Sinhala figure of speech: කයිමන් දොරකොඩ වගේ
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like Kaiman's Gate
Meaning: Wide open
Context: Kaiman's Gate is a place located in the northern part of Colombo, and it is used in common usage to speak about a place that has more space than the required amount.
Sinhala figure of speech: කරත්ත රෝදෙට අහුවුන කජු ලෙල්ලක් වගේ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like a cashew husk caught under a cart wheel
Sinhala figure of speech: කරත්තෙට බැන්ද ගොනා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like the bullock bound to a cart
English equivalent: Packhorse
Meaning: The one who pulls the load
Sinhala figure of speech: කරත්තේ බැන්ද ගමන්
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: While tied to the cart
English equivalent: In Harness
Meaning: While engaged in a job or a task
Sinhala figure of speech: කරවල වෙළඳාමේ ඇවිත් සුදු සඳුන් වල ගණන් කුමට ද?
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][ප්‍රශ්න]
Literal translation: What has the seller of dry fish to do with the price of sandalwood?
English equivalent: Let the cobbler stick to his last
Meaning: To do what one is familiar with, experienced in, or skilled at, rather than trying something different and risking failure
Sinhala figure of speech: කරු අඳේට අඬනවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like crying for the Karu Ande
Meaning: When crying because others are crying
Sinhala figure of speech: කරු අඳේට අමුඩේ ගහනවා වගේ
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like tying the loincloth for the Karu Ande
Meaning: When preparing to do something half-heartedly while hesitating
Context: There are two Ande methods; namely, Hari Ande and Karu Ande. If working on Hari Ande, the farmer receives half of the harvest, while if working on Karu Ande, one receives a quarter portion of the harvest. That is because the Karu Ande person farms with another partner.
Sinhala figure of speech: කරුපන් ෂෙට්ටි නැතිවට කම් නැහැ කරුපයියා නමම හොඳයි
Type: [විශ්වාස][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It does not matter if Karupan Chetty is not there; the name Karuppaiya itself is good
Context: There was a cattle herder named Karupan, and one day he found a treasure under a rock. The next day, when the employer addressed him saying "Ade Karupan," and when he said "I do not like the word Ade," the employer addressed him as Karupan from then on. On the second day, when addressed as Karupan, he said, "Why do you call me Karupan, can't you say Karupaiya?" On the third day, when addressed like that, he asked to be called Karupaiya Pille, and also asked for a silver plate as he could not eat from a clay plate. The next day, he asked to be called Karupaiya Chetty. At this time, the employer followed Karupan, saw him lifting the rock, looking, and rejoicing, and took the treasure after he left. The day after that, when addressed as Karupan Chetty, he said, "The old name Karupan itself is good for me."
Sinhala figure of speech: කල දුටුදා වළ ඉහින්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like emptying the pit in the nick of time
English equivalent: Make hay while the sunshine
Meaning: Taking advantage of it when the opportunity arrives
Sinhala figure of speech: කලකදි වහලු කලකදි රහ ලු
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: Poison at one time, tasty at another
Meaning: Enemy parties at one time becoming friendly at another time.
Sinhala figure of speech: කලු කපුටා සුදු වන තුරු බලා සිටියා වගේ
Type:  [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like waiting until the black crow turns white.
English equivalent: Waiting till the cows come home
Meaning: Waiting until a better time comes.
Sinhala figure of speech: කලු ගලේ ඔලුව ගහ ගන්නවා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like bashing one's head against a black rock
English equivalent: Kick against the pricks 
Meaning: A big loss occurs to the weak person by going to clash with a powerful person
Sinhala figure of speech: කලු ද සුදු ද දන්නේ නැහැ
Type: [වාග්ව්‍යවහාර]
Literal translation: Don't know if black or white
Meaning: Have never seen
Sinhala figure of speech: කලු නික හොයන්නා වගේ
Type: [විශ්වාස][ප්‍රපංච][උපමා]
Literal translation: Like searching for Black Nika
Meaning: A thing that cannot be obtained
Context: Nika, a medicinal shrub (Vitex negundo); it is the folklore that Black Nika is a rare plant species producing black colored leaves and flowers
Sinhala figure of speech: කලුන්දෑත් බිසෝ වුණා ලු
Type: [උපදේශ][කතා][වාර්තා]
Literal translation: It is said that even Kalunda became a Queen
English equivalent: A cat may look at a king
Meaning: One can look at high people disregarding social status